The British Academy

University course closures leave students unable to study many SHAPE subjects close to home - report A new report shows that students are shut out of SHAPE education in their home regions, as large swathes of the UK are ‘cold spots’ for humanities, social sciences and arts degrees.

Cuts to humanities, arts and social science courses at universities are leaving students unable to study close to home - which particularly impacts students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Read more 👀 www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/univers...

Front Row - Kathryn Bigelow and Kiran Desai - BBC Sounds Film director Kathryn Bigelow and Booker-nominee author Kiran Desai

ICYMI 💡 Our report on 'cold spots' in UK higher education was talked about on BBC Radio 4 Front Row last night by @samiraahmeduk.bsky.social , with @benlukeart.bsky.social and Islam Issa, Professor of Public Humanities at @@mybcu.bsky.social

Tune in at 30:00 🔊 https://bbc.in/46F96uF

Spanning a broad range of non-fiction subjects from the global politics of women’s health to Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, this year's British Academy Book Prize shortlist leads readers across continents and pivotal moments in history.

Here's why non-fiction is important to our authors.

Cold spots: Mapping inequality in SHAPE provision in UK higher education This British Academy report reveals that many parts of the UK are becoming subject cold spots – areas with no provision in a subject within a commutable distance. These are often in rural, coastal or ...

Read the full report: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/policy-and-r...

Key finding 1: Cold spots have emerged in the North, South West and East of England, as well as parts of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Key finding 1: Cold spots have emerged in the North, South West and East of England, as well as parts of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Key finding 2: The biggest loss of provision is at lower-tariff levels. This is concerning given strong links between attainment and socioeconomic disadvantage. Key finding 3: Languages, Linguistics, Anthropology, Classics and Theology are among the hardest hit. If trends continue, English, History, Drama and Celtic studies – including Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh – could follow.

As we await the post-16 White Paper, we’re calling for: - An urgent review of higher education funding - Regulators to monitor provision with an ‘at-risk’ regional register and subject premium - Government to help universities collaborate effectively with clearer guidance about competition law

In case you missed it: our latest report explores a growing crisis in universities.

In many regions, students risk losing access to vital humanities, social science and arts subjects. Swipe to see our key findings and recommendations.

The British Academy and @nuffieldfoundation.org today publish the final report from the three-year Understanding Communities programme, bringing together researchers, policymakers and practitioners to build resilience and wellbeing in UK communities. Read more: https://bit.ly/3ISBMHo

We invite applications for British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowships 2025. The scheme supports established and senior researchers in the humanities and social sciences wishing to complete research through a sustained period of leave for one year. Apply now: https://bit.ly/3VMeTZ9

New in the Journal of the British Academy, explore the rise of transnational kleptocracy and how rule-of-law societies have welcomed kleptocrats and oligarchs.

Read more through the link below!👇

https://bit.ly/4nb2wlB

British Academy responds to government announcement on university maintenance grants The British Academy has issued a response to the government's announcement on using a proposed levy on international students to fund maintenance grants.

Read our response to the Government’s announcement that university maintenance grants will be reintroduced for certain courses, funded through a levy on international student fees
https://bit.ly/4gPz7uO

White banner with an image of a researcher focused on his work. The words 'BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants' are written on the right-hand side.

Are you a postdoctoral researcher? Don't miss the application deadline for British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants on 5 November. Funding is available for research projects across all areas of the humanities and social sciences. Apply now: https://bit.ly/3K4kEyA

This #InternationalPodcastDay tune into ‘Confessions of an Early Career Researcher’ – a new guide to the world of academia post-PhD.

The first three episodes of the podcast are available now. Subscribe for our next episodes, live on 15 October: https://bit.ly/4pNaTp1

Graphic that reads ‘The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and The British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Symposium’

Applications for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and The British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Symposium 2026 are now open. The application deadline is 29 October. Find out more: https://bit.ly/4nyWsmv

Arts & Ideas - Finding my tribe - BBC Sounds Anne McElvoy and guests discuss connections, divisions and creating new political parties

Find out more about the 2025 Book Prize shortlist – Professor Rebecca Earle FBA, chair of the Prize, was featured on the latest episode of Free Thinking, where she discussed the topics and themes that are featured in this year's books 📚 Listen from 45:20: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0m57gl7

British Academy Monograph ‘Capital, Privilege, and Political Participation’ explores how economic, social and cultural capital, and how people perceive privilege, shape political engagement. An in-depth look at who participates in politics and why it matters, now available. 👇

https://bit.ly/4nEyg2d

Promotional graphic from British Academy Publishing, featuring a new book titled "On the Edges of Christendom: Market Expansion and the Church of Medieval Castile" by Abraão Antunes Monaghan, depicted with a cover image showing a close-up of medieval manuscripts.

New open access British Academy Monograph ‘On the Edges of Christendom’ explores the life and thought of Bishop Maurice of Burgos, and through him, what it meant to live on the border between the Latin West and Islamic al-Andalus in the thirteenth century. 👇
https://bit.ly/4gOHerD

White text on magenta background: Confessions of an Early Career Researcher. leverhulme.ac.uk/news "We are excited to be collaborating with the British Academy on this new podcast to help early career researchers navigate every stage of their career journey."

The Leverhulme Trust has teamed up with @britishacademy.bsky.social to produce Confessions of an Early Career Researcher, a new podcast by ECRs for ECRs. Tune in now: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/audio-video/...

Read more about this collaboration: www.leverhulme.ac.uk/news/confess...

Check out this new podcast for ECRs - I’m proud to have been one of the guests on episode 3, where we talk about the importance of networks and mentors, and where to find them!

Our new podcast by ECRs, for ECRs is here. Tune in as researchers share their academia survival tips.

The first episodes of Confessions of an Early Career Researcher are available now. Subscribe for our final episodes, going live 15 October. https://bit.ly/47PXZQH

Promotional image for an article titled "Can a digital society ever be ecologically sustainable?" by Federica Lucivero and Gabrielle Samuel, featuring an abstract design of a glowing, digital landscape in blue and red tones.

From data centres and devices to e-waste and energy, our digital lives come with a hidden ecological cost 🌍

British Academy funded researchers, Federica Lucivero and Gabrielle Samuel, ask: Can a digital society ever truly be sustainable?

Read the full article 👇

https://bit.ly/3VNd9Pc

Promotional graphic for a publication from British Academy Publishing featuring the cover of "The Pineapple from Domestication to Commodification", which includes a painting of a person in historical attire holding a pineapple.

New in the Proceedings of the British Academy series, ‘The Pineapple from Domestication to Commodification’ considers the pineapple as a story of modern globalisation: from an early modern object of rarity, desire, and horticultural innovation to a cheap, canned consumable. 👇

https://bit.ly/3K9V4bO

Graphic that reads ‘The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and The British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Symposium, with the date 10-12 June’

The British Academy and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation are inviting applications from early-career researchers in the humanities and social sciences to attend a research collaboration symposium on the broad theme of Truth, Justice and Peace in Germany. https://bit.ly/4nyWsmv

Promotional image for a new publication by British Academy Publishing titled "Transregional Kingship in the Thirteenth Century." The graphic includes the British Academy logo and a colorful medieval illustration on the book cover.

From the Proceedings of the British Academy, Transregnal Kingship in the Thirteenth Century explores how rulers governed across multiple kingdoms, amid shifting ideas of sovereignty. Focusing on the Empire, France, the Angevin realm and the Papacy.

Read it for free now 👇

https://bit.ly/41W8CO1

Promotional image for a new publication by British Academy Publishing titled "Ancient Plaster: Casting Light on a Forgotten Sculptural Material," with an adjacent photograph of historic plaster sculptures.

From the Proceedings of the British Academy series, Ancient Plaster: Casting Light on a Forgotten Sculptural Material explores plaster in ancient Mediterranean sculpture and beyond, offering a transformative view that will appeal to scholars and art lovers.

Find out more 👇
https://bit.ly/4mkHWh4

White banner with an image of a researcher focused on his work. The words 'BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants' are written on the right-hand side.

Alongside the ‪@leverhulme.ac.uk, we invite postdoctoral – or equivalent – scholars in the humanities and social sciences to apply for the British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants. Application deadline is 5 November. Apply now: https://bit.ly/3K4kEyA

‘We’re insanely hubristic’: how The Rest Is History became the world’s biggest history podcast Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook on storytelling, their strangest interactions with fans and bonding over The Lord of the Rings

Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook spoke to The Guardian about what it meant for them - and their podcast, The Rest is History - to receive the British Academy's President’s Medal in 2023. 👉https://bit.ly/4n4G2lY

Keep your eyes peeled for the 2025 winner announcement on 17 October 👀

White banner with an image of an audience seated and facing forward. The words 'SHAPE Involve and Engage’ are written on the right-hand side.

Following our successful pilot scheme, SHAPE Involve and Engage programme has returned. If you are a UK-based researcher in the humanities and social sciences and would like to apply, you can find out more here: https://bit.ly/47XA41y

Promotional image for a new book titled "Great Sogolon: Mandé Epic from the Bondo Birds of Fadama (Guinea)" from British Academy Publishing, featuring a cover image of a traditional mask.

New in the Fontes Historiae Africanae series, ‘Great Sogolon’s House: The Epic of Manden According to the Condé of Fadama (Guinea)’. This epically narrated transcription and translation of the Sunjata epic is rich with detail and rooted in cultural memory.

Discover more ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4nm0IWh

The experts whose work features in the open-access Philip Leverhulme Prize Collection on EXPeditions include British Academy Fellows Lyndsey Stonebridge, Charles Tripp, Catherine Hall, Philippe Sands and more 👇

https://bsky.app/profile/expeditions.bsky.social/post/3lyummitvv22m

Advertisement showcasing "The British Aristocracy and the Modern World," a new book from British Academy Publishing. The cover features a person in ceremonial robes standing in a historic setting.

A new volume in the Proceedings of the British Academy series, The British Aristocracy and the Modern World, revisits former British Academy President David Cannadine’s seminal work 35 years on, considering how much has changed amongst Britain’s landed elite.

Discover more ⬇️

https://bit.ly/3JYNeBu

Promotional image featuring a new book from British Academy Publishing titled "State-Making in an Age of Revolution, 1830-1880." The cover displays a historical painting of an individual overlooking a cityscape. The background is split with dark green on the left and a lighter green on the right.

New in the Proceedings of the British Academy series, ‘State-Making in an Age of Revolution’ reveals how governments across Europe expanded their reach after the 1848 revolutions through practical reform.

Learn more through the link below ⬇️

https://bit.ly/4m7qKfb